You're our Friend
by A Muggle-Born Writter
Summary: James, Sirius and Peter try to find out Remus' secret. Remus tries to hide it. What will be their reaction when they find out he's a werewolf? Warnings inside.


**You're our friend**

**Author:** A Muggle-born Writer

**Rating: **K+

**Genre:** Friendship

**Time-line: **Marauders' Era at Hogwarts (1971-1978)

**Warnings:** Peter bashing

**Pairings:** None.

**Disclaimer: **The Marauders aren't mine, because if they were, the Harry Potter series would have a prequel named "_The Marauders: a story of friendship."_

**Summary:** James, Sirius and Peter try to find out Remus' secret. Remus tries to hide it. What will be their reaction when they find out he's a werewolf?

**Author's Note:** My thoughts of how they discovered his lycanthropy and confronted him. Lots of Peter bashing because I hate him. ;)

"_A friend is one who knows you and loves you just the same."_

Remus Lupin wasn't your average teenager. First of all, he was a wizard. Yes, wands and cloaks on. But he also had a secret, a very dark secret.

He was a werewolf.

He had been bitten by the age of eight, by another werewolf, named Fenir Greyback. Since then, every month, on the full Moon, he transforms into a wolf and bites and scratches himself. All alone. They are always painful, and leave him scars all over his body.

But what hurts him the most is the prejudice.

Werewolves are outcasts of the society, shunned by everyone, and considered monsters. Remus himself considers him a monster. And he doesn't have any friends to share his burden.

Well, he **didn't **usetohave.

Since he started Hogwarts, he made three friends, three great friends: Sirius Black, James Potter and Peter Pettigrew. They called themselves "The Marauders", and they were the best friends Remus ever had, (not that were many, they always deserted him when learned of his condition) but he didn't dare to share his darkest secret with them.

No. No, they were perfectly fine like this. Why spoil everything?

But his fellow marauders didn't think the same…

"Going home again, Remus?" Sirius asked. It was a full moon night, and Remus was preparing to go to the Shrieking Shack to spend the night.

"Oh, yeah…My-my grandma has died… and… I need to go to her funeral. I'll be back in two days." He glanced at the window. The Moon was almost appearing behind the clouds. "I need to go now… Bye."

"Bye" The three boys said in unison. The second the boy left the three cast a suspicious look at each other."

"How many grandmothers can a person have?" James begun "Because I swear Remus' grandmother have already died four times"

"Don't forget about his mother, who is always ill." Sirius added on.

"And his bunny, who already died three times." Peter finished.

"That's it. Remus is **definitely** hiding something from us. And I want to discover it" James pulled a calendar from behind his bed "I've marked here all the dates he "goes home", and I've been trying to trace a pattern, but I don't see any semblance."

"Don't forget that he always comes back all scarred and pale, like he's been attacked." Peter noted that "Hey, do you think he's part of a sect?"

James and Sirius casted a disbelief look at him.

"No. No, just no." James cut him. "He's our Remmie, our shy and bookish Remy, he wouldn't do something like this"

Sirius sighed tiredly and looked at the window. Suddenly something clicked inside him.

"James! Peter! The moon! Look at the moon pattern!"

James did it instantly, and gasped in shock "All his disappearances were in full Moons!"

"Full Moon… could he be… nah, no, it's impossible…" Sirius ranted.

"What is it?" Peter inquired.

"Well… do you think Remus is a werewolf?"

Silence as realization dawned on the boys.

"I'll get my _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them _book." James broke the silence, getting a red book from his trunk. He cleared his throat and started reading:

_A werewolf is a human being who, upon the complete rising of the full moon, turns into a fearsome and deadly near-wolf. Werewolves can be easily distinguished from regular wolves by several small distinguishing characteristics, such as the pupils of the eyes, the snout shape, and the tufted tail. At all other times, they appear as normal humans, though will often seem to be ill as the full moon approaches and may have many scars over his body. This condition is caused by infection with lycanthropy, usually occurring when a human is bitten by a transformed werewolf. A werewolf differs from an Animagus in the fact that he or she does not transform by choice. With each full moon the person transforms and no longer remembers who he or she is, and would kill even their best friend given the opportunity. There is no known cure for either the bite of a werewolf in his wolf-form or the bite of a werewolf in his human form._

Silence again.

"Why wouldn't he tell us?" Sirius asked, his voice a bit shaken by surprise and sadness "We are his best friends, why wouldn't he tell us?"

"He thinks we would hate him." James answered him, in a similar state "He thinks we would shun him away, tell everybody, even kill him…"

"WHAT? Never! He's still our Remus, out best friend, our fellow Marauder! We would never… ever…"

"I feel the exact same way, Sirius, but you have to think that the whole Wizading World despises werewolves, he might have thought we would be the same…" James tried to calm his best friend, but he himself was boiling in anger. How dare they treat his best friend, his sweet friend Remus, like scum?

"Bullocks, we're **not **like these idiots! Remus is as human as you and me, and I won't let anyone think otherwise!"

"Well said, Sirius, well said." James tapped him on the back, and the two guys looked at Peter, who were silent since the revelation.

"Guys…" Peter started, trembling his voice "Werewolves are dangerous creatures… the book said he would attack even his best friend… don't you think it's better…"

Sirius went to get Peter, but James got there first, and pulled him by the collar.

"Don't you **dare **finishing that sentence, Peter. You know Remus wouldn't hurt a fly, and just because he's got a fury little problem, we are **not **going to desert him. He's like a brother to me, and I know he doesn't attack anyone, I know it! Look at his scars! If he attacked someone, he wouldn't have any, but he does, he attacks himself in the full moons so he doesn't hurt anyone! He's – "

A howl full of pain and hurt echoed through the dorm.

"Remus…" The two brunets fell on their beds, James letting go of Peter, sighing sadly.

"Peter…" Sirius started determination on his voice "Remus will stay our friend, you like it or not."

The blonde swallowed hard, then said: "Fine."

James put his head on his hands "We need to tell him that we know…" And shot a glance to Peter "… and that he is still our friend."

"When will we do this?" Peter squealed, still a bit nervous

"Tomorrow, as soon as he comes back"

Remus came back the next day, with even more scars and paler than ever, and all he wanted was to jump on his bed and sleep. But the Marauders had another plans for him…

"Hi, Remus, how were there?" Sirius asked, drawing his attention from his Potion's essay to the werewolf.

"Not bad, I've been in worse." _Not a total lie,_ he thought. Sure, it was worse when he was younger, but it hurts every time.

The other three shared a knowing look, nod, and then walk over to the fourth.

"Remus…" James started, but Sirius cut him out.

"We know that you're a werewolf."

Remus' heart stopped beating for a second. _No. _That's all he could think. _No, no, no, it' isn't happening, it can't be, no, no, think, think, think… Oh, Merlin, no, they were the best thing that ever happened to me, and now… Oh, god, what if they told everyone? I must leave now. I'll send an owl to my parents and leave. But I'll miss Hogwarts so much…_

Breathing again, Remus swallowed hard, squeezed his eyes shut, got his trunk and started throwing his things on it, quickly. _ The sooner the better._

Sirius and James stepped forward, grabbed him by his arms and threw him in his bed.

"Where the hell do you think you are going?" They said in unison, angered that Remus thought so little of them, angered at the whole Wizarding World for making him think so.

Remus started trembling. _I knew it, they won't let me go in peace, they'll tell the whole school!_

He placed his hands in a begging manner and started rambling: Please, please, please, don't tell anyone, I beg you! I'll get out of your lives forever, you will never have to hear about me again, I promise, I'll leave, but please, let me go in peace!" He was close to tears now, so he shut his eyes even more and looked down. No. He wasn't going to cry. Not now. Save them for when he were alone. But not now. Not in front of them.

He was more than surprised when he felt two pairs of arms embrace him.

"Ssh… Relax, Moony, relax…" Sirius was whispering in his ear, while James patted him in the back "We don't care, Remus, we really don't… We would NEVER desert you, you're our little brother, our fellow marauder, we… we love you."

"Yeah, mate." James continued hugging him even tighter "We're not like those stupid people who are prejudiced." He looked accusingly at Peter, who looked down in shame and moved closer to Remus. "We KNOW you; we know you wouldn't hurt us, or anyone. You're our best friend"

"The marauders stick together, mate. And you're stuck with us." Peter added, though not being completely truth.

Remus looked at them, in disbelief. Could they really mean what they were saying?

"You really don't think I'm a monster? You still want to be my friends?" He asked for reassurance.

"Remmie, you're not a monster, all right? I don't want you to say that ever again, okay? I swear to Merlin I will punch you if you call yourself this way again." Sirius answered him, looking more serious than ever.

"And of course we want to still be your friends! Who would help us with homework, or make sure we don't get expelled, not to mention that you are the brain of the Marauders! How would we become the biggest pranksters of all times without your intelligence? What would be of us without you?" James completed, smiling mischievously at him, but being completely true.

Remus smiled at his friends "Yeah, you three would be totally screwed without me… So, you really don't care?"

"Nope." James said without hesitation

"Not one bit." Sirius added

"No way." Peter answered too, still lying.

Remus smiled amazed at them "You three are the most mental, insane and crazy people I've ever met, you know that?"

"And you love us for that." Sirius added, happy that his friend realized they weren't going to leave him.

Remus looked down, smiling shyly "James, Sirius, Peter… You'll never know how much it means to me. Thanks, guys. Thanks for everything."

Sirius and James shared a look before saying in unison:

"What are friends for?"

Remus chuckled "Probably not for hanging out with a werewolf."

"Then we're a special kind of friends, all right?" Sirius buffed, clearly tired of repeating himself "Now, Moony, can you help with that Potions essay?"

"Sure thing, Sirius, and… Wait… Moony?"

"Yes, Moony. Our special nickname for you." James answered him. "Now, can you help me too? I'm really going to fail at potions; Slughorn is going to kill me…"

Remus just smiled at his friends, his best friends. And he knew they would be friends forever.


End file.
